Nalšia
Nalšia or Nalšėnai (sometimes Nalsen) was an ancient land (regional principality, a subject of Polotsk) in the early stages of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. wok. Nalsen, Naalse, Ruthenian village Нальщаны, Нальщане). The exact location is not yet identified. The principality is mentioned in written sources from 1229 to 1298. In the 11th century it was at least nominally subject of the Principality of Polotsk.In the 13th century it was one of several principalities that awarded the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the west or north-west Nalšia bordered the Livonian Order's holdings and in the south the main part of Lithuania. Historical information According to information provided by the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle on the Livonian Crusades of 1229 to 1250, thirteenth century Nalšia was surrounded by the holdings of the Livonian Order and Lithuania. Another source, Incipiunt Descriptiones Terrarum (The beginning of a description of the lands), an anonymous chronicle of the 1260s, identified the Nalsen as a separate population, ethnically close to the Lithuanians and Yotvingians. Historical source attest that Nalšia was subordinated to the Principality of Polotsk, and also included the part of Latgale region, lying east of the Aiviekste River. These information make it possible to tentativelty locate Nalšia can be localized on the territory of the former Principality of Jersika, where the largest ethnic group were the Nalsens. Attempts for the localization of Nalšia The historiography of Nalšia has not yet been clearly identified - there is disagreement both regarding the ethnic group of the Nalsen as well as on their political status. One of the first who tried to scientifically localize Nalšia has been ethnologist and linguist Eduards Volters. Based on the geographical position of several settlements in the Utena district of Lithuania, such as (Noliškis and other neighboring villages, the description of the raids of the Livonian Order army against Nalšia as well as various legends regarding the family of the Princes Giedraičiai, Eduard Volters suggersted that Nalšia was located on the North-West of the highlands of Lithuania.Вольтер Э. А., Где искать землю Нальщанскую Ипатьевской летописи // Журнал министерства народного просвещения, 1900, № 5, с. 195–201.. Polish historian Henryk Łowmiański, considered that the territory of the Nalsen tribes of Lithuania was localized East of the Žeimena River and a line connecting Vilnius - Halshany - Lida, being located in the Eastern and South-Eastern part of present day Lithuania and in the North-Western part of Belarus. This localization of Nalšia is based, among others, on the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle which presents the campaign of the Golden Horde in 1258-1259, under the command of Burundai. On the basis of the description of the winter battles in Lithuania, Łowmiański reached the conclusion that Nalšia was located in the area of the village of Halshany (Alšėnai) in today's Belarus. This conclusion was rapidly accepted by the majority of Lithuanian researchers, but starting in 1976 this assumption was again contested, and the actual location of Nalšia was assumed to be more to the West. Art present, most Lithuanian historians locate Nalšia in a perimeter defined by the settlements of Utena - Valmiera -Braslaw - Pastavy - Svieriai - Nemenčinė - Molėtai - Utena. Edvardas Gudavičius locates Nalšia west of the Žeimena River, while Tomas Baranauskas (1973-) and Gintautas Zabiela prefer the North-Eastern part of Lithuania and the North-West corner of neighboring Belarus; Romas Batūra prefers to locate the territory of Nalšia mainly to the East of the Žeimena River and the city of Halshany (Alšėnai). Rulers of Nalšia Nalšia most famous Dukes of Lithuanians (at least hypothetically) considered Nalšia (?) Prince Daumantas, Tautvilas (Prince of Polotsk and presumed also of Nalšia), Konstantin Bezruky Prince of Polotsk and Gerdenis Prince of Polotsk and Prince of Nalšia. References * Category:History of Lithuania (1219–1569)